Abstract
We utilized a hierarchical figures task to determine the default level of perceptual processing and the flexibility of visual processing in a group of high-functioning young adults with autism (n = 12) and a typically developing young adults, matched by chronological age and IQ (n = 12). In one task, participants attended to one level of the figure and ignored the other in order to determine the default level of processing. In the other task, participants attended to both levels and the proportion of trials in which a target would occur at either level was manipulated. Both groups exhibited a global processing bias and showed similar flexibility in performance, suggesting that persons with autism may not be impaired in flexible shifting between task levels.
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Acknowledgments
We express our appreciation to the participants and their families. We would also like to thank the research assistants at the Clinique Spécialisée des Troubles Envahissants du Développement, Hôpital Rivière-des-Praries, especially Patricia Jelenic. Jacob A. (Jake) Burack’s work was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Laurent Mottron’s work was supported by Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and David Shore’s work was supported by and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council discovery grant. We also thank Heidi Flores and Tania Fernandes for their help in the preparation of the manuscript.
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Hayward, D.A., Shore, D.I., Ristic, J. et al. Flexible Visual Processing in Young Adults with Autism: The Effects of Implicit Learning on a Global–Local Task. J Autism Dev Disord 42, 2383–2392 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1485-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-012-1485-0